Tag Archives: budget travel

Places I ate during my solo stay at MITC Melaka

Posted in Food and Drinks, Places to Eat, Reviews by

First of all, there is a 24-hour McDonald’s restaurant just beside the MITC Hotel that you can walk to at any hour of the day for a meal. There’s even a Petronas Mesra in case you yearn for something as simple as a Gardenia roll or mineral water. Better still, walk over the huge MITC carpark and make your pick of the restaurants sat nicely in the row. Further down, there are a few other restaurants worth mentioning, such as Maniss Cafe, Bangsawan, Mi Tarik Lanzhou, Restoran Akar, Asam Pedas Nek Jarah, etc. Even Mixue is there if you need a quick sugar fix.

Anyway, these are the places I went to for my dinner during my 4D3N stay at the MITC hotel. All within walking distance. My walking distance is 30 minutes.

GEPUK KE KUNYIT

I dined at the place and chose a Daging Kunyit dish. It was RM13. Looking at the menu, it looks mid-range and very family-friendly. My meal set comes with refillable drinks. The rice portion was huge. I think it is best shared between 2 people. The soup was nice. It did not give me a headache, as some salty ones can do that. I requested sambal biasa, meaning mild version. It was palatable. After the meal, I spent 30 minutes at the big MITC carpark, brisk walking to get my metabolism going.

BRUH KITCHEN

I read a positive review of this place. A friend at work recommended the Brisket. Hence, I walked from my hotel, The MITC Hotel, to this restaurant. I reached there by 6 PM. Malaysians tend to have their dinner much later, and so there was no crowd. I ordered my meal via QR scan, and it arrived in less than 15 minutes.

I agree with the 5-star Google reviews. The brisket is to die for. Mine was the Beef Brisket Menangis priced at RM42.90. It came with 3 different sauces. One had a tangy taste, the other was spicy, and one had a familiar taste. The tangy one was nice. I also had the house special drink, the Avocado Milkshake.

After eating this meal, I had to walk longer to digest everything. I felt that the cream overpowered the avocado taste, but yes, I would definitely bring my husband and kids here again, to appreciate the wonderful food they have at this place.

MIXUE

I feel that I need to specially mention this Orange Punch drink. I love it. Even with 30% sugar.

SECRET RECIPE

This restaurant has become a household name for its cake selection. I was desperate for a cake on one particular day. I think I went here on a Friday night. I had beef lasagne and an Indulgence cake. Of course, it was delicious. This branch is located in front of Mydin Mall. Then I did my 10K steps in the mall and around Kota Fesyen.

BOTANICAL GATEWAY CAFE MITC

I had lunch here, just after my hair spa session at Poppy Beauty Spa. I believe this cafe was once Richiamo Coffee. The layout was the same, only they sold other food. It still has pastries, but I was going for a heavy lunch. I chose the Fish and Chips. It did not have the classic tartar sauce, which is a shame. I had my meal with plain water because I wanted to have Gigi Coffee afterwards. It was OK, but I prefer the ones from Windmill station.

This sums up my dining experience during my MITC staycation. Hope it helps.

Solo stay at MITC Hotel Melaka

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

My husband brought the kids over to Acheh for the Raya Haji celebration with my dad and his new wife (and kids). Mi amore knew that I was NOT on leave in that particular week due to the usual ‘kuota cuti’. Although my response to his proposal to bring the kids to Acheh was a sing-song ‘you can do that, saya tak cuti‘, the most appropriate response is to CANCEL EVERYTHING. But no, he took it at face value and went ahead on the trip. After more than 10 years of marriage, masih lah tak faham faham. Ha ha.

So, I did the next best thing to console myself. *giving myself a butterfly hug here*. I booked a solo stay at one of the nearest hotels to my workplace. The MITC Hotel. It was only a 15-minute journey to work. I checked in on the evening of EID and just enjoyed the great hospitality. I booked a Superior Double room for a 4D3N stay through Agoda.com. My total was RM 492.94, including taxes and fees. I even have breakfast included. I did have to pay the Melaka Heritage Fee separately at RM3 per night. The fee may vary depending on the hotel’s star rating.

Parking was obviously easy. I can see why some comments on Google reviews mentioned that the room seemed small. It is because the bed is not big, risen and bulky. It looks like our ordinary double bed at home. It feels like a Hobbit home. The pillows were fluffy but a bit odd-sized. It felt like sleeping on the chest of a really muscular bodybuilder. The hotel was pretty generous with its beverages. They provided one cup of instant noodles on arrival. The coffee and tea sachets were replenished daily. The air conditioner was superbly cool. I loved that there was a hair dryer too. There is no fridge in the room, so I basically get my cold water from work and bring it with me to the hotel. I need my cold water.

Do bring your own toothbrush and paste

The location is great. There are plenty of restaurants near the hotel itself. If you are willing to walk a bit further like me, you can go towards the roundabout and find your way to Mydin Mall. Apart from what is in Mydin itself, there are also a few other nice places to eat at Kota Fesyen. I was able to get my steps in daily after work in the evening. Every day, I had dinner outside and would usually come back to the hotel just after Maghrib. I will write about my dinner adventures in a different post.

Breakfast at the hotel starts at 7 am. That means I get a quick 30 minutes at the restaurant before I drive off to work. I only managed to enjoy the buffet at a leisurely pace during my last day there, since it was a Saturday. I have to recommend their Nasi Lemak. The sambal was really good. I put it on top of everything I can, the roti canai, lontong, everything! If they are serving this particular Nasi Lemak as part of lunch, I would actually come here to have lunch. Coffee was OK. It did come from those automatic machines. I also enjoyed their noodles. It was nice. The roti canai and curry were delicious too. Thankfully, the school holiday crowd has yet to arrive during my stay there. Thus, my breakfast was quite peaceful and less hurried. Meaning, I don’t have people staring at my table, wanting to sit there once I get up.

The swimming pool was cute. I think my daughter would have loved it. There was a beautiful courtyard for private events just beside it, too. The overall service and hospitality were great. The staff were so polite. Always with a smile and a tiny nod. The manager even called me a few minutes after checking in, just to make sure that everything was up to my expectations, since I will be staying there for 4 days. No wonder it is a 4-star hotel.

part of the pool
the courtyard

There was no sight of a gym. Even then, as I said earlier, I managed to get my brisk walk in after work by strolling the area. There were so many things to see and try. You will never go hungry because there is a 24-hour McDonald’s restaurant right beside the hotel. I would definitely come here again if I ever need another solo moment because I really felt safe as a female guest.

My Experience with NFC TnG Cards

Posted in Gadgets, Good Things, Reviews by

My usual way of reloading my TnG card is by visiting the nearest 7-Eleven store and making my payments there. My card will be swiped and reloaded. Most of the time, this works for me, although there will be hiccups now and then. The most frequent problems are that some convenience stores just provide the pin, and you will need to top it up on your own, or the store’s line is disrupted.

I came across the NFC TnG card several times before, but was never enticed to get one because my previous Samsung phone did not have the NFC and contactless payment feature. Now that I’ve switched to a second-hand Samsung S23Plus, I get to explore this further.

In fact, I bought the Eid edition TnG card a few weeks ago since the design looks pretty cute.

I ordered the card through the Touch and Go app for RM25, and it arrived home via the Ninja courier. Now it is easier to reload the card, as I can tap it on the back of my phone with the amount of money I want. This should be handy if I need to reload it on the highway urgently. It eliminates the need to stop at the RnR or gas station!

Klana Resort Seremban – old but gold

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I felt guilty that our kids did not go anywhere special during the 3-week school holidays. Healthcare professionals do not get leave easily. In any situation, it is always ‘perkhidmatan diutamakan’ in government service. I know the kids don’t really mind because they are spending time at their grandmother’s house anyway. And like all wonderful grandmothers around the world, the kids were fed and cared for with a lot of love. Even then, as a parent, I still felt like doing something nice for them.

So during the last weekend of the holidays, I made a booking at Klana Resort Seremban. My son preferred a place near his school because he wanted to be early for registration day. He wanted to get the bottom bunk of the bed in his dormitory.

I booked a Triple Family Room with a garden view. The total price was RM 464.70 for a 3D2N stay. The room has a 1 King bed and 1 single bed. Hence, the rooms are located near the pool, not facing the pool. Still, the pool is within walking distance. It took less than 1 minute walk. I like that the pool facilities are mom and kid-friendly. It’s like the Amverton Hotel in Melaka. There is no specific dress code. Thus, I could happily jump in with a comfortable T-shirt and leggings. There is no lifeguard, so do be mindful of your own family members. Clean towels and a place to change are available at the pool. Interestingly, they also serve pool snacks.

I did not include breakfast services because we wanted to buy them from the nearby stalls. We had roti canai on the first morning and nasi lemak with fried chicken on the second morning. The room was spacious and super clean. I loved the bathroom. Most importantly, it has a dryer and a balcony where we can hang our swimming attire to dry. There’s Netflix, and so we watched a few good movies on it.

The area does look a bit eerie at night, but since we spent most of the time indoors, it was not a bother. It felt a bit quiet and dark as we checked in earlier. It is because we arrived near 8PM. Putting that part aside, we had a really great stay. The kids loved the pool eventhough the trip was a short one. Alhamdulilah.

Our room is the one in the white building

Syukran Mekah and Madinah

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel by

Having done Umrah makes me want to do Hajj. Or at least another Umrah when time, health and wealth permit. InsyaAllah.

After spending 4 nights in Madinah, it was time to say goodbye. Our Air Asia flight was at nearly midnight, but the hotel was very kind to keep our luggage in their storage after we checked out. Thus, we were able to spend our remaining hours until Maghrib at Masjid Nabawi, where we prayed, ate, and rested.

We arrived at the Madinah airport fairly early. Hence, we were rather calm at the check-in and security checkpoint. I felt sorry for a group of Malaysian jemaahs who had to cut the queue because their flight was on the verge of boarding. I could sense how pissed the other travellers are. To be honest, their travel agent could have done better by taking the responsibility to inform the security officer in charge. At least, an announcement could be made by the officers in order for these passengers to pass through first. I believe one of the reasons why Mr Husband hates going with travel agencies is because of accountability issues.

We brought back with us 3 bottles of Zamzam. They were priced at 12.5SR for 5 litres, limited to only 1 purchase per passport. In the flight, our family of 3 were sat with other families with smaller children. Of course, I had a non-restful flight. I really cannot sleep upright. I was ready to sprawl myself across the floor. I think I can fit. But I do not want to appear silly. Naturally, I had a headache once we landed.

Our in-flight meal was Nasi Lemak and coffee. Oh, how I missed Malaysian food so much. I do not think I can eat another biryani or shawarma for the next few months. I also missed our huge, roomy, accessible toilets and prayer rooms in Malaysia. Home sweet home.

By the time this post is up, it will have been nearly a month since I came back. The memory still lingers, and I long for those peaceful moments I experienced back then. I hope to hang on to the thought that all worldly problems are small. That they are solvable and Allah bestows upon us these problems because He loves us and wants us to become better human beings.